Minnesota got a 44-yard field goal from Walsh with two seconds left in the second quarter to send the Vikings into the visitor’s locker room tied at 10-10. The Vikings would not back down.
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“That one felt good; that one felt really good”, Catanzaro said of Thursday’s.
Dwight Freeney is a vet in this league so what he did last night is what he’s always done: Make a play. Prior to last week’s game against the Rams, the Cardinals converted him to defensive back because of depth issues, but they kept him on special teams.
The Vikings (8-5) had a short week of preparation after losing to Seattle 38-7 on Sunday, their worst home loss in 31 years.
NOTES: Cardinals S Tony Jefferson, who was listed as questionable with a pulled hamstring, played against Minnesota…. Had they avoided just one of them, the outcome Thursday may have been different.
The team lost three fumbles, which directly led to Cardinals points. On 2nd and 1 from the ARZ 9 yard line, Peterson took a Bridgewater handoff and ran to his right.
Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson wanted more carries than the eight he got (for nine yards) against the Seahawks.
Thumbs up: Chandler Catanzaro came up with his second late-fourth quarter game-winning field goal in the past four games.
Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer worked over a depleted Minnesota defense that was missing a handful of starters, throwing for 310 yards and two touchdowns. Calais Campbell recovered for Arizona and the Cardinals ran out the final five seconds.
Bridgewater said he “had a clear understanding of the situation” when the play unfolded. Dwight Freeney had a lot to do with that, as he made the game-clinching sacks and forced fumble with second left in the game and the Vikings in position to at least tie the game. Not only did his strip sack secure a playoff spot for the Cardinals, but he reportedly made $200k because of it. That led to a career-high 335 yards for Bridgewater. “I was ready to throw”. But not tonight. Yet, the Cardinals still were able to beat the Minnesota Vikings 23-20, by virtue of a commendable defensive performance and just enough offensive theatrics to get them by. On the next drive, Teddy Bridgewater found Mike Wallace for a 7 yard touchdown.
Moving past Minnesota is much more feasible, though, especially after they fell on Thursday.
Senior quarterback and pro prospect Carson Wentz suited up for the first time since breaking his throwing wrist seven weeks ago.
Palmer, who was 25 of 35 with no interceptions, threw touchdown passes of 65 yards to wide receiver John Brown and 42 yards to wide receiver Michael Floyd.
Rather, it came after another play (we’ll get to which one, but your guess is probably a good one) had already hobbled the Vikings’ chances.
The Vikings responded to the defeat at Denver with five straight wins, and they emerged from the trip to Arizona with a similar expression of confidence despite the exasperating defeat.
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“That’s why I came back, because moments like this, you can’t duplicate those in life”, Freeney said.
